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The argument started at diner. Byakuya wasn’t sure, but he thought that maybe Papa and Grandfather were arguing about him.
Byakuya sat very quietly and tried to sip his soup without slurping. He kept his eyes down, focused on the plates spread out on the low table. He thought: maybe, if he couldn’t see them, they wouldn’t notice him.
“There’s no harm done,” Papa insisted. “They’re just stories.”
“But of what?” Grandfather wanted to know. “What are you teaching the boy, Sōjun?”
Byakuya glanced up, absolutely sure the conversation was about him now. He looked to Papa, who sat seiza on the opposite side of the table and was giving Grandfather the funniest look, like maybe there was something funny on Grandfather’s head. Byakuya checked just to be sure. No, Grandfather looked the same. Underneath his fuzzy mustache, his stern mouth was turned down in a frown.
Papa finally shook his head and laughed a little, “Nothing, Father. There’s no point to them, no moral. The stories are just for fun.”
“Exactly,” Grandfather said as if Papa had just agreed to something. “If there’s no point to them, they should stop.”
Papa laughed again, “I’m not going to deny my son our Admiral Seaweed adventures just because you can’t appreciate fun for its own sake, old man. No, forget it. I’ll tell my baby bedtime stories until he tells me he’s tired of them or begins to make up his own.”
“You coddle him.”
Papa smiled, “And you’re too cold. Thank goodness between us we make a decent parent.”
Even though Grandfather and Papa didn’t talk much of the rest for the rest of the meal, Byakuya was happy to hear that Papa would still tell him the story of Admiral Seaweed. After all, the Admiral had only just gotten to the island where the treasure was supposedly buried! What if his old rival, Captain Pineapple, had made it there earlier, like the magic crow messenger said might happen? Honestly, Byakuya was on tenterhooks. The story had been building towards this big fight for months.
Papa ruffled Byakuya’s hair. “Stop? It’s my favorite part of the day,” Papa muttered to himself, “I’ll stop over my dead body.”
#
But, despite what he said, Papa never came to Byakuya’s room that night.
He never came home at all.
No one was saying anything, but Byakuya knew something was wrong. The house was too quiet, like the night Mama was supposed to give Byakuya a baby sister or brother, but, instead, had left them… and taken his sister with her.
Forever.
Papa had started telling the stories at night, then. To stop Byakuya’s nightmares, Papa would crawl under the sheets with him and hold him tight. At first, Papa would cry with him, too. But, then, to make them both laugh, he’d invented the most amazing creature, a lumpy, silly-looking thing that was the bravest sailor on the sea.
Now Papa was leaving, just like Mama, and taking Admiral Seaweed with him.
The door to Byakuya’s room slid open. A servant knelt at the door. Byakuya could barely make out who it was in the darkness. “My lord—“ came Eishirō’s familiar voice. Instead of its usual steady, comforting tone, he collapsed into tears.
“He’s dead,” Byakuya said for the sobbing servant. “Papa’s dead.”
Eishirō glanced up. His eyes glittered in the darkness. “How did you know?”
“Because he said,” Byakuya’s own voice sounded strange to his own ears—too calm, too…empty. “Papa said the only way he’d stop telling me the story of Admiral Seaweed was if he was dead. Kuchiki always keep their promises.”
#
Byakuya didn’t feel anything for several weeks. People complimented him for being ‘brave,’ but Byakuya didn’t feel brave, he felt lost. Like a ship in a storm, tossed by wind and wave, he felt he was slowly being drawn under into the deep, cold, darkness of the sea.
No one came to hold him in the night when he cried out now. No one crawled in beside him or hugged him tight or tried to make him smile. Eishirō brought him tea and sat beside him, sometimes, until he fell asleep again.
As the days went on like this, Byakuya stopped talking entirely.
Then, he found he had no energy to eat.
He just wanted to stay in bed… and wait. Maybe, if he closed his eyes, Papa could come back and finish the story.
One morning, he woke up and found a woman sitting by his bed. Well, crouched, actually, like a cat, ready to pounce.
“You don’t remember me do you, Bya-boo?” she asked.
He blinked sleep from his eyes and tried to remember. Was she his aunt? This lady looked nothing like his aunties, she was dressed like a soldier in the uniform of a shinigami. Her hair was an unusual color, a deep purple, and stuck up funny on the top of her head, almost like she had cat ears.
Cat ears…
“Oh!” Byakuya said suddenly, “Yoruichi!” The second her name was out of his mouth, he blushed. That wasn’t how he was supposed to greet someone like her. Grandfather would be so mad! Sitting up properly, he bowed his head, “Uh, I mean, good morning, Shihōin-sama!”
“Aw, look at how cute you are in those pajamas trying to be a proper little lord!”
Byakuya felt a twinge of anger. He was a proper little lord!
He would have said so, but she thrust a present at him. It was a big box and was wrapped in glittering golden paper with white and pink cherry blossoms printed on it. He took it from her in confusion. “What’s this? It isn’t my birthday.”
She ruffled his hair, and the gesture reminded him of Papa. He felt something tug in his heart, especially when she laughed at him. “I know, silly. This isn’t a birthday present, it’s more of a…” when she hesitated her face got serious for a second. Then, she smiled again, “…welcome to my house present. You’re going to come live with me for a month or two, won’t that be fun?”
Byakuya clutched the present so hard the paper crinkled. “Did Grandfather die, too?”
She looked stricken, “What? No! He’s just very, very busy right now.” Yoruichi held on to her bright smile for a long time but, after a moment, she sighed, letting it drop. She took his hand and held it. “I know how to explain this, but, when your dad died, he took the title of clan head with him, and your grandpa is fighting with factions in the Kuchiki family to make sure you’re installed in his place when you’re old enough. He’s trying to get himself appointed regent, but people don’t like that term because they think he’s going for a power grab. Anyway, the truth is, there’re some people who might be perfectly willing to assassinate you, so that their son or daughter can claim the clan. Your grandpa doesn’t think you’re safe here and he wants you protected by someone who can’t be bought, who isn’t invested in the Kuchiki family politics, who is one of the true first, and who can fend off assassins and an army, if need be. That’s me! So, pack your bag, kiddo. You’re coming with me this afternoon and you get to live at my house until the dust settles.”
He nodded with his head bowed, resigned to this new fate.
Yoruichi lifted his chin and touched his nose with her finger. “Don’t look like that. My house is nice. Your father and I were very good friends; we used to play together all the time when we were little. He was one of my best friends. He told me lots of things about you, too. I think we’ll get along just fine.” Then, she seemed a little uncertain, so she added, “Or, it’ll be over in a month or two, so it won’t much matter.”
Byakuya didn’t know what he should say, so he fell back on good manners. “Thank you very much, Shihōin-sama.”
She made a face at him as she stood up. “None of that –sama stuff at my place, Bya-boo.” Putting her thumb to her chest she said, “It’s Yoruichi to you.” Then, she stood beside the bed with her hands on her hips, staring down at him with bright amber eyes. Finally, she shook her head—another gesture that reminded Byakuya of his father. She said, “Aren’t you going to open it? What kind of kid are you, anyway? I thought for sure you’d tear into it right away!”
Blinking up at her in horror, he said, “But... it’s not proper to open a present in the giver’s presence!”
Yoruichi stuck her tongue out, “Yeah, well, I’m supposed to say it’s no big deal and just a small token of my affection or whatever, but it was a big deal to make this for you! I’m no seamstress and I pricked my fingers bloody!”
Under this onslaught, Byakuya had no idea what to do.
“Open it!” she commanded.
So, even though he felt very strange about it, he did. Slowly undoing folds where the paper came together, he carefully set it aside. He really liked the cherry blossom pattern for some reason, and he thought he might be able to make a bookmark or cover something else with it. Then he undid the box top. Opening it up, he peered curiously inside.
There was a lump of green fabric.
He glanced up at Yoruichi, who was smiling encouragingly, hopefully. “Pull it all the way out!”
Byakuya lifted the lumpy green fabric, and found there were arms and legs attached. A face had been crudely painted onto one side. He had no idea what he was looking at for a long time, but then… he suddenly recognized the creature. “Admiral Seaweed!”
Yoruichi wrapped Byakuya in a big hug. “Yes, Byakuya! Your father told me all about your stories, and I thought you might be missing him.”
Tears rolled down Byakuya’s face, despite the fact he knew his grandfather would not approve. “Thank you, Yoruichi. I love it. I love him very much.”
Byakuya hugged Admiral Seaweed close to his chest. As long as he had the Admiral, he’d never be alone.